libber

Huh?? Smaller motor, don't think I have heard about that one before, can someone please elaborate.

Mariah

I bought my FW 221 about 7 yrs. ago, and love it! The reasons I like it so is because I can grab it and go to guild. It only weights about 11# and does all of the usual sewing tasks.
I wouldn't do any quilting unless a small piece with straight lines. I have read it is very hard on the motor to do the quilting.
The attachments were all included with my machine, altho I have never used them. It would take a walking foot if I could afford the $150 that they cost!! (Dreaming.)
The upkeep can be pretty expensive, but good daily care can cut out a lot of that. My tech guy has given me some tips to keep from having to have any of the expensive work done.
You wouldn't be sorry if you bought one. I have seen where they are not very expensive now. I paid $500 for mine but I have seen where you can get one for less than $100. My tech guy re-conditions them and sells them, and always has several. Depending on where you live, that might not be a bad way to go.
Good luck with one if you get a FW!
Mariah

quiltgal

The 221 can be any of several different featherweights, the black ones, the white ones, the tan etc. The 222 (see picture) is the free arm one that was made to be used England (220 power) in the early 1950s right after they were still trying to recover from loss of manufactured goods from WWII. They are noteworthy because they can lower the feed dogs as well. Only about 9,000 were made and so it is one of the rarest. The very rarest version was the black crinkle style make during WWII for the military use. They wanted one that was not shiny.

annthreecats

I saw that statement in this thread. http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...t-t171567.html

k9dancer

I teach machine quilting and use my Featherweight when I do so. I also machine quilt large quilts on it. My motor is just fine, and while I admit that getting a large quilt into the harp is more of a challenge than a machine with more space, I have done it more than once and I free motion quilt all the time. So, yes, it is possible to FMQ on a FW. No, I do not cover my feed dogs. I just set the stitch length to zero and away I go.

Grace creates

Wow , I bet that crinkle one will sew past my lifetime, you sure know featherweight history. I started looking up a little on the internet and it is quite fascinating.